Of Gods and Cylons

I got to thinking the other day about a possible connection between the twelve Cylon models on Battlestar Galactica and twelve Olympians. Traditionally, there have always been twelve gods, but Hades gets lumped in with them due to his importance in Greek myth and the fact that he's a sibling to Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, etc. This brings the count up to thirteen (more on that later).

I don't think that the creators of Battlestar Galactica intended that there was to be any direct connection between the twelve Cylons and the Greek gods, but with the gods being personified as the Lords of Kobol, I can't help but find some parallels. With that in mind, here's who I think represents who and how it may impact the identity of the final Cylon.

Cavil = Zeus
Zeus - King of the Gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the sky, thunder, and justice. At first, I picked this connection due to a combination of elimination and the fact that Cavil model number one. Lately, he's taken a very authoritative role in the Cylon assembly. He pushed for the Threes to be boxed and spearheaded the lobotomizing of the Raiders. Also, when he organized the ambush of the Twos, Sixes, and Eights, it looked very much like a raining down of punishment from on high. Zeus was always very vindictive, so this kind of fits.

Leoben = Hades
Hades - Lord of the Dead; god of the Underworld and wealth. This is why I couldn't ignore Hades when compiling this list. Leoben fits Hades too well. Leoben's abduction of Starbuck and hiding her away with him on New Caprica mirrors Hades' abduction of Persphone to the Underworld perfectly. In addition, Leoben's spiritually and obsessions has always stood him apart from the other models, similar to Hades being off from Olympus and dwelling in the Underworld.

D'Anna = Hera
Hera - Queen of the Gods and of the heavens; goddess of women, marriage, and motherhood. Before becoming obsessed with the identities of the Final Five and her boxing, D'Anna seemed to be one of the strongest guiding forces and figures of authority for the Cylons. What really closes the deal on this one for me, is the story of how Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical throne which, when she sat on it, didn't allow her to leave it. The other gods petitioned Hephaestus repeatedly to free her. Seems pretty similar to D'Anna's situation to me.

Simon = Demeter
Demeter - Goddess of fertility, agriculture, nature, and the seasons. When Simon is first introduced, he's running the medical facility that is experimenting on human women in the hopes of creating a human/Cylon hybrid. Also, the episode that he first appears in is called The Farm. So the connection to Demeter and fertility and agriculture seems appropriate. Other than that, there really isn't much to go on where Simon is concerned. He's pretty calm and logical, that's about it.

Doral = Hermes
Hermes - Messenger of the Gods; god of commerce, speed, thieves, and trade. When we first meet Doral, he's posing as a public relations specialist aboard Galactica during the mini-series. This helps connect him to the idea of business and being a messenger. Also, his dress and demeanor has always struck me as one of an oily business man.

Six = Aphrodite
Aphrodite - Goddess of love, beauty, desire, and fertility. This one is a bit of a no-brainer. The various Sixes have become more complex over the seasons, but when first introduced, Six used her sexuality and looks to trick Baltar into granting her access to the Colonial Defense grid. Also, the Gina version was Cain's lover, which gave her access to the mainframe on Pegasus.

Sharon = Hestia
Hestia - Goddess of the hearth and home. I admit that this one is a little tricky. However, the fact that both Sharon and Boomer made conscious decisions of where there home should be makes some connection. Also, with home you have family, and Sharon has one with Helo and little Hera. Maybe a little bit of a stretch, but in context with all the other models, it's the best fit for her. Despite taking the call sign "Athena", I think that Hestia is a better model for Sharon.

Tigh = Ares
Ares - God of war, frenzy, and bloodshed. Tigh fought in the first war with the Cylons and he's a career soldier and officer. The guy is always pissed-off about something, so there's your anger and frenzy. During the resistance on New Caprica, he was the leader that took the "by any means necessary" approach that included suicide bombers. Also, Ares had and affair with Aphrodite, and we've seen a connection forming between Saul and Caprica Six a few episodes back.

Tory = Artemis
Artemis - Goddess of the hunt, of maidens, and the moon. Like Sharon, connecting Tory to one of the gods could be considered somewhat of a stretch. However, ever since Tory has become accepting of her Cylon nature, she has been sort of on the prowl, specifically where Baltar is concerned. Also, she hunted down Cally and blew her out the airlock when the later discovered that Tory, Tigh, Tyrol were Cylons.

Anders = Apollo
Apollo - The Sun God; god of light, healing, music, poetry, prophecy, archery and truth. Apollo has always been depicted as handsome and athletic and that fits Samuel T. Anders pretty well. Also, there's the myth of Cassandra who rejected Apollo's advances. Out of spite, he cursed her with the ability to see the future, but no one believed her. Starbuck dumps Sam for Lee and she comes back with the way to Earth, but no one believes her. Somewhat of a parallel. Also, as Tory (Artemis) has become colder (the moon), Sam (Apollo) seems to have grown more compassionate (the sun), as seen in last weeks episode with the dying Eight.

Tyrol = Hephaestus
Hephaestus - Blacksmith to the Gods; god of fire and the forges. This is another obvious parallel. Tyrol is the chief engineer on Galactica and has even built a stealth Viper. Plus, he has been depicted as a labor leader in several episodes. Hephaestus has often been referred to as being "lame" or "crippled". Chief has become very emotionally crippled since the loss of his wife, Cally.

The 12th Cylon = Athena
Athena - Goddess of wisdom, crafts, and strategic battle. If this ends up being Roslin, that covers wisdom. If this is Cally, a mechanic, that covers crafts. If the final is my personal favorite pick, Admiral Cain, strategic battle applies. Granted Athena seems more appropriate if the Twelth is Roslin and Cain, rather than Cally. If it does end up being Cally, I may consider switching Sharon from Hestia to Athena, and Cally to Hestia.

The 13th Cylon = Poseidon
Poseidon - Lord of the Sea; god of the seas, horses, and earthquakes. Yeah, I said it. There has been some speculation that there is a hidden thirteenth Cylon to represent Earth. The connection to Poseidon would make since given his connection to the seas and earthquakes. If there is one, I don't think we've seen this character before and I hope it's played by Dirk Benedict (the original Starbuck).